Lane Kiffin predicts Jon Sumrall will get SEC job this offseason, praises ability

For the second time in their careers as head coaches, Lane Kiffin and Jon Sumrall go up against one another. Ole Miss plays host to Tulane in Oxford on Saturday afternoon, setting up one of the more interesting nonconference games of the season. So, while the two have faced off before, Kiffin believes the matchup will become a little more frequent in the future.

Kiffin was asked about Sumrall during Wednesday’s SEC Coaches Teleconference, someone who has been linked to jobs within the conference. He went on to predict Sumrall would land an SEC job this offseason, expecting to see him at meetings in January.

“It’s funny you bring that up,” Kiffin said. “I told my staff yesterday, I said, ‘I feel like I’m going to be in head coach’s meetings in the conference’ — I think our first one is in January — ‘with Coach Sumrall.’ So, it’s funny you bring that up.”

Sumrall spent his playing days at Kentucky, being heavily linked to the Wildcats after Mark Stoops was linked with the Texas A&M job previously. Experience inside the SEC matters to some athletic directors and Sumrall has that too. He coached in Lexington, along with a one-year stint at Ole Miss as the inside linebackers coach.

One ESPN insider even agrees with Kiffin’s prediction. His came a week earlier, saying Sumrall would be an SEC head coach in 2026. However, maybe the most interesting part was not having him pegged to land at Kentucky.

“Tulane’s Jon Sumrall is still the top candidate from a non-Power 4 school,” ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg said. “I’d be a bit surprised if he’s not leading an SEC program in 2026 or shortly after. Sumrall is an Alabama native who played linebacker at Kentucky and coached both at his alma mater and at Ole Miss in 2018. He will be the top name mentioned whenever the Mark Stoops era ends at Kentucky, but his return is far from a guarantee. Sumrall could look to other SEC jobs where making the CFP seems a bit more realistic.”

Kiffin went on to explain what would make Sumrall successful inside the SEC. He spoke highly of the team’s mentality during the course of games before praising what Sumrall is able to do on the defensive side.

“His teams are really disciplined,” Kiffin said. “They play really hard, they tackle really well. He’s got a really good fundamental defensive system. And he wins.”

SEC coaches might be getting a preview of what is coming in the near future. Kickoff between a pair of a pair of 3-0 teams inside Vaught Hemingway Stadium is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET